War Core Wednesday! War Core 3, Introduction.

Introduction.

“We have won a great victory and these bugs and monkeys will become our prey. It will take time, but the human homeworld and their new neighbors, the Krixnas will become fresh hunting grounds for our people,” Great Leader Ibixan told the senate. Claws clacked against the decision pillars in agreement, but not as many as he had hoped. The proclamation podium stood in the center of the senate auditorium, the position still giving Ibixan a sense of unease as he stood there. It was in the open, leaving him vulnerable, surrounded by the senators in the circular building. The design was purposeful, no Ssath leader should ever be completely comfortable, he should always be ready to defend himself and the empire from any threat.

“I disagree, Great Leader, this human threat cannot be wistfully ignored. They have killed Hssim, defeated one of our greatest cores, and they did this after being in the great game for only a short time. We must press forward, spare no expense in our efforts to subjugate the prey. Humanity and their Krixnas allies must be completely crushed, and their people sent to the hunting pens,” Senator Shadax argued. Ibixan replied with a threatening hiss, brandishing his claws against the upstart young senator. Shadax represented the opposition to his rule, but it was a minor opposition, youngbloods too eager to fall into the red rage of the hunt and ignore the larger picture. They saw Hssim’s defeat as a chance to usurp more power from the elders of the senate.

“Hssim was not defeated, he bested all the cores sent against him. The GCA saw fit to take him at the end of the battle, but only after his claws had ripped the victory from our foe. You sully his memory but suggesting he was anything other than a conqueror for our people. Are the Krixnas homeworld and the system it resides in not under our control?” Ibixan argued. More senators clacked in agreement, A sound that Ibixan loved. In front of each seat of the senate was a small stone pillar, the surface covered in grooves worn from centuries of senators clacking their claws against it in approval. It was a symbol of their people, the pillars were even integrated into their currency, showing the unity of their species.

“A dead Ssath is a defeated Ssath. Too long you and your leadership cabal have kowtowed to the GCA. Their rules don’t define what a true Ssath sees as a victory, our rules are the standard. If you die in battle you are defeated, this is how it has always been. The GCA making calculations at the end of the battle does not change what is right. Not only has Hssim been defeated, but he was also denied the honor of having his flesh consumed by the people,” Shadax argued.

A smattering of claws clacked against podiums, Ibixan looking around to make note of who was supporting this upstart, a Ssath that was barely more than a hatchling. Shadax’s scales and feathers still showed the green of youth. Ibixan and the other elders had feathers and scales of deep red, with black starting to tint some of them as their age progressed. Until darkness covered the body of a Ssath, he was still considered a warrior, and the darkness had a long way to go before it claimed Ibixan.

“Enough of your posturing, the decision is made, sit down hatchling, and let your better’s rule,” Ibixan demanded, the heat and fire the red rage of the hunt making itself felt in his aging body. Shadax hissed in defiance but did as he was instructed. The great leader of the Ssath ruled, and his word was obeyed, at least for as long as the Senate continued to support him. Shadax’s supporters were far too few to threaten his rule anytime soon.

“Great Leader, may we continue with the session? I believe the younglings have gnashed their teeth at us long enough,” Senator Mishas asked. One of his oldest supporters, Mishas was always ready to lend aid to Ibixan, a rare Ssath of modest ambition, one of the few truly content to stand in the shadow of his betters. If only more of his people would behave that way, then Ibixan’s job would be much easier.

“We continue, as will our progress toward the human homeworld. A steady advance will see us to victory, and see our enemies turned into feedstock. There is no need to squander resources and even more influence points to purchase what we will undoubtedly achieve in due course,” Ibixan advised.

If Shadax and his ilk had their way, the Ssath would burn through all the influence points they had acquired over the decades, just for a chance at quick vengeance. No Ssath liked to wait, but it was the wise thing to do in this case. Already, the GCA had selected a replacement core for Hssim, and that one would need time to train and grow before they could resume their advance. A few more details were ironed out, some influence points allocated to different offensives, and as the sun began to set, the session was complete, and everyone was dismissed to participate in the evening feast.

Many of his allies congratulated Ibixan on his swift drubbing of Shadax, they all loved to see the upstart put in his place. The crowd of senators, their attendants, and the great leader all waited for the shuttles to arrive and whisk them off to the waiting feast. Ibixan heard the chefs had outdone themselves once again, blending a combination of prepared dishes and live prey to satisfy the tastes of the Ssath elite. The thought of the feast made Ibixan salivate even as he noticed the shuttles had finally arrived to pick them up.

“What is this!” Senator Mishas shouted as the doors to the shuttles opened and a swarm of Ssath emerged. The Ssath aboard the shuttles were decked out in ceremonial battle armor, steel plates protecting any vulnerable areas of their bodies with sharp blades extending the reach of their claws.

Mishas may have been confused, but Ibixan realized what this was, this was an attempt at a coup. The Ssath had powerful weapons at their disposal, weapons that could level a city with little trouble, but a change of power had to be accomplished through more traditional means. Shadax was making his play for control of the senate and the title of Great Leader, and he was observing the traditions of melee combat to determine the leadership of the Ssath race. The Senate was supposed to be neutral ground, and challenges for leadership were made through a set method of personal combat. Shadax was showing Ibixan and the entire Ssath people that he had no respect for their laws and traditions, throwing everything away in his quest for power.

The transports held over a hundred attackers, all of whom zeroed in on specific targets, the scent markers of each senator would be known to them and Ibixan was sure that Shadax had targeted, very specifically, the ones that needed to be eliminated to secure his claim of leadership. Several of Ibixan’s colleagues were dragged down by the attackers, but even elderly Ssath were dangerous, they all went down fighting, but natural teeth and claws were not as effective as those enhanced with steel. The senate guard responded, they also had metal armor, but the position was mostly ceremonial, and their numbers were few. Pushing his way through the crowd, Ibixan was blocked by one of Shadax’s supporters.

“You die tonight great leader,” the senator, a young fool named Quilgoth shouted as he charged Ibixan.

“Perhaps, but not before I’ve ripped the life from you and tasted your traitorous flesh!” Ibixan replied, giving into the red rage of combat. Quilgoth was fast, but Ibixan was a seasoned warrior, easily deflecting the bite aimed at him, and accepting deep lacerations to his leg in order to land his own bite at the perfect spot on Quilgoth’s neck. His teeth dug deep, the taste of blood filling his mouth as Ibixan sawed his head back and forth to tear-free a gobbet of flesh from his foe.

“No!” Quilgoth gurgled a moment before Ibixan tore his throat open.

“Yes, you should have waited for your armored assassins to do your work for you, senator,” Ibixan taunted as he and his supporters fell back to the senate chamber. A pair of guards assisted the limping Great Leader. The slashes from Quilgoth had dug deep into his hind leg, a painful, but not a mortal wound.

“Great Leader, additional forces have been summoned to help defend the senate, they should arrive shortly,” the captain of the senate guard, whose name Ibixan couldn’t seem to recall said. They pulled him and his supporters back into the senate building, and started to pull the reinforced doors closed. More of the armored assassins arrived before the doors could be sealed and the handful of available guards tried to hold the chokepoint of the doorway.

Sparks flew as claws deflected off armor. Eventually, blood joined the sparks and the pressure of the attackers built, driving back the guards. One by one, the guards were cut down, Ibixan and the senators supporting him tried to aid in the defense, but they were sorely outclassed by the weapons and armor of their foes. Still, to be a Ssath was to be a hunter and they brought down more than a few of their opponents.

The attackers cut down Ibixan’s supporters but refused to do more than wound him in their attacks. Bleeding from multiple wounds, Ibixan slumped against the leader’s podium in the center of the senate chamber, all his allies were slain and he was surrounded by blood-soaked, armored foes. The attackers parted, allowing Shadax through, the upstart’s muzzle coated in gore, showing he had enjoyed his participation in the slaughter.

“So, it comes to this. For nearly a century the senate has been neutral ground, no blood disputes are to be settled here. You have defiled our people,” Ibixan said, losing his footing as blood loss from his many wounds threatened to overcome him.

“No, your old and antiquated ideas end here, my time is nigh, and I will lead the Ssath into victory. I won’t allow the humans to build their strength, I will end their threat now, no matter the cost, just as I am about to end your life.

“Ha, fool, it won’t be long before some other upstart will drag you to your death here on the senate floor, just as you are trying to do to me,” Ibixan argued swiping ineffectively at his attacker.

“I am the most powerful Ssath, if any think they can take it from me, they are welcome to try. All who oppose my rule will be torn apart, just like I’m going to do to you,” Shadax growled, his tooth-filled maw snapping past Ibixan’s weakening defense and biting deep.

The world grew dark around Ibixan, sounds of feasting were heard as he slipped into the void, his last view focused on one of the senate decision pillars, knowing that claws would soon ring out on it in approval of Shadax. Just as the grooves on the decision pillars showed centuries of old traditions, the dark blood pooling on the floor of the senate warned that a new tradition had begun.